0:00:03 > 0:00:06We've really hit a high note here at Leeds Town Hall,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10in fact, so much so that our experts can conduct a whole new programme.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14So welcome to a Second Symphony from the Roadshow in Leeds.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58For 150 years, Leeds Town Hall
0:00:58 > 0:01:04has proudly watched over the city's evolving skyline,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06and from its inception, music has played a central role
0:01:06 > 0:01:09in the life of this remarkable building.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12The town council considered it essential to have a built-in
0:01:12 > 0:01:16instrument here to bring musical events to the people of Leeds.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18A vital organ, you might say.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28In harmony with the splendour and scale of the town hall,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32this is the largest three-keyboard organ in Europe,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35containing a staggering 6,500 pipes,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38one for every pound it cost to construct.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41At 50 feet high, 47 feet wide and 27 feet deep,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45this was such an enormous undertaking that the workshop
0:01:45 > 0:01:50where it was assembled had to be rebuilt to accommodate it.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54And the swell box, which amplifies the sound,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58is so cavernous that a dinner party was once held inside it.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Our experts are getting in tune too.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Will there be the odd bum note, or a perfect rhapsody?
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Let's find out.
0:02:10 > 0:02:11What a super Parian model.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15It's, of course, made by Minton, as you probably know,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18and well-marked but I think it's absolutely wonderful.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23- Yes.- Marvellous girl and the lion, isn't it? How have you come by it?
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Um she was given to my parents by a next door neighbour
0:02:27 > 0:02:32quite a few years ago, and when my Dad died, I retrieved that
0:02:32 > 0:02:38from everything else that was going for clearance really, yes.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41- So saved?- Saved, yes.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44- And now loved.- Yeah.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46It's a super model, isn't it?
0:02:46 > 0:02:52This girl is cutting the toe nails of this lion, a most improbable thing to do.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56- Yes.- Of course the subject is called The Lion In Love.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59- Is it?- And the lion is in love with the girl.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02- Oh.- I'd like to be that, and she's looking up at him.- Yeah.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05I wonder what face she's pulling? She's cutting his toe nails.
0:03:05 > 0:03:06He looks quite wild.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09But that's a lovely thing to do, cutting one's toe nails.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13I mean, my wife does it for me and I know it's because she loves me
0:03:13 > 0:03:16but otherwise she wouldn't do it, but he's great.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20It was modelled by Klagman, who modelled it in 1864
0:03:20 > 0:03:25and the actual figure was made in 1864 when he modelled it.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28- Ah.- So it's not a very common model to find.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33- No.- And it was modelled from a great marble that was in the Great Exhibition in 1851,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37- so modelled directly from that but reduced, of course, in size.- Yes.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41The original marble model would be seven times as big as this one
0:03:41 > 0:03:46but this is in a Parian body and I think it's absolutely wonderful.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48So have you ever wondered how much it's worth?
0:03:48 > 0:03:51I often...yeah, I have done, really she's...
0:03:51 > 0:03:55she's hidden away most of the time because she's so big.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59But when I do see her, I do think, "I wonder how much she's worth?"
0:03:59 > 0:04:04- Yes, yes, she is big. Difficult to display but it should be out and enjoyed.- Yeah I know, yeah.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06- It is absolutely beautiful.- Yes.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10- I reckon you're looking at something between £800 and £1,000.- Really?
0:04:10 > 0:04:12- She's absolutely beautiful.- Yes.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17- So The Lion In Love, you're in love with the lion.- Yeah.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18He's a great chap, isn't he?
0:04:18 > 0:04:21I think it's a marvellous lion. Ah!
0:04:21 > 0:04:25I think everybody knows what a rocking horse looks like,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27or at least they think they do
0:04:27 > 0:04:32until they see a rocking horse like this and it is completely different
0:04:32 > 0:04:36to every rocking horse that one's familiar with in this country.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38What was your relationship with it?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Is it something that you sat on as a...
0:04:40 > 0:04:43well, I think probably not recently, but did you sit on it as a child?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I certainly did, yes, yes, I certainly did,
0:04:46 > 0:04:47it was in my aunt's house.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- Yes.- In Headingley, a little house, occupied the hall,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52virtually filled the hall
0:04:52 > 0:04:56and, yes, I used to go and see her every Saturday, have a little ride.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Fantastic, what a wonderful excuse to go and see Auntie.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01So it's been restored?
0:05:01 > 0:05:07- Yes.- And I must say a beautiful job has been done on it, and I can see you're grasping photographs.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10- Oh, my goodness... so this is how it was?- Yes.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15- This is off its stand. - Just before it was restored, yes.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18It had been fairly badly treated.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22I wanted to restore it but Yvonne wanted a proper man to do it.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26And, as wives usually do, she got her way.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28- Exactly, yes.- Amazing.
0:05:28 > 0:05:34This particular type of horse was patented in 1862.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36It is, in fact, an American horse.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41- Oh.- American? - No family connections with America?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- None at all, no.- None. - Isn't that interesting.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48From the head, coming down, underneath the belly,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51we've got this strip of metal.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55- Yes.- Which acts as a sort of governor, if you like.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59- That's right, yes.- And at the base,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04you have these wonderful concentric flat springs
0:06:04 > 0:06:11which are then attached to the legs here and so, when a child is on it,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- it gives an incredibly realistic ride.- It does, doesn't it?
0:06:14 > 0:06:18- Completely different to one on rockers.- Exactly, exactly.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23The inventor, a man called Jesse Crandall, just got it right.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27It wasn't his first invention using springs, but he gradually,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29over the years, perfected it,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33so that this really was the ultimate sprung horse
0:06:33 > 0:06:37and I could certainly see that this would have been made
0:06:37 > 0:06:40- round about the turn of the century. - Right.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42- The 20th century, of course.- Yes.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44Does it still have a life?
0:06:44 > 0:06:48- Oh, yes, yes, yes. We have grandchildren.- Yes.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52At Christmas there were two on him and one hanging on in front.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57- Oh, my goodness, so it does...- Oh, yes, um, when we had him restored,
0:06:57 > 0:07:02the restorer said that he should be in a museum, and I said,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06"No, he's part of the family, he's going to be used."
0:07:06 > 0:07:12Now, it would have been quite an expensive toy when it was purchased,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16I mean, these were luxury goods by any stretch of the imagination,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20and it's a valuable toy still.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I'm going to ask how much you paid for the restoration.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- £600.- 600?
0:07:26 > 0:07:30- I think that's very, very good value, I must say.- I didn't.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35- You, you had to write the cheque and you thought it was a lot of money? - Exactly, yes.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39I have to say, I do think that was money well... really well invested,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43showing what it was like before and what it's like now.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46If you wanted to sell it, which I'm sure you wouldn't,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49but an auction price for something like this
0:07:49 > 0:07:53would be in the region of perhaps £3,000, so I think your £600...
0:07:53 > 0:07:56- Really? Good, good investment. - "Good," he says, exactly.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01- Your £600 has actually made this object.- Yes.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05So I get the impression that you've known this a long time,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08but I'm not sure about that, what's the story?
0:08:08 > 0:08:15- No, the story behind that one is it's my brother-in-law that actually gave that to me.- Right.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17He just said to me, all he knew about...
0:08:17 > 0:08:19it's French, it's a French person,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22but I don't know anything about it whatsoever.
0:08:22 > 0:08:23And what about the big beast?
0:08:23 > 0:08:27And this one is my grandma's, she'd had this for years.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31It was always up on top of the little dresser that she had and I always admired it,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34- and she said, "One day that will be yours, Karen."- Gotcha.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37So, in fact, I'm right, you have known these
0:08:37 > 0:08:40- for different lengths of time. - Different.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43And the reason I say that is that there's a general rule
0:08:43 > 0:08:48that signed glassware is more valuable than unsigned glassware.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53That's a fact. Now this one has the word "Galle" written across here,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57- have you ever heard of Emile Galle? - Not really, no.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02Emile Galle was one of the greatest glass makers ever in history.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05He's just an absolute... a genius in glass making.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10French, 1900, and this looks exactly like his work, except it's fake.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15- Oh.- So if it were right, and it really truly was by Galle,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18then it would be worth £500 or £600.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22As it is, it's worth a bit less.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26- This one, on the other hand, has no signature at all.- No.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29But it's much more interesting than that.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34- How are we doing so far? - Well, I don't even understand what it is, or where it...
0:09:34 > 0:09:37we thought it could be for a candle, something for a candle.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40I think you're right, I think you're right.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44- This piece at the top is a socket for something.- Mm.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47So what it is, it probably was a candlestick
0:09:47 > 0:09:48that's missing its sconce.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52It was made in Bohemia, what is now modern Czechoslovakia,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54in about 1860-1870,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57it's concentric layers of glass laid on top of one another,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59cut through, gilded and hand painted.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03- Right.- And whereas some people might think this is a sort of
0:10:03 > 0:10:07fairly ghastly piece of kitsch - there is that school of thought.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11- Yes.- Others still like it a lot, particularly in the Middle East,
0:10:11 > 0:10:16where it's very popular and whereas the value of many antiques
0:10:16 > 0:10:20has gone down, this sort of taste has stayed constant.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23- Right. - So, let's do what they're worth.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Well, the vase is worth about 20 quid.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31- Oh, right.- Your wedding ring that I found in it...
0:10:31 > 0:10:35is... Geoffrey Munn tells me worth is about 150,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- so you can have that back. - Thank you.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42- The vase is worth £600 to £1,000 at auction.- Right.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Thank you, mmm, that surprised me, yes.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49I mean, they look quite like the sort of remnants
0:10:49 > 0:10:53of a watch repairer's stock or something. How did you get them?
0:10:53 > 0:10:57My father-in-law was very interested in clocks and watches
0:10:57 > 0:11:01and it was a hobby of his and he used to go round collecting them
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and try and repair them where he could.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07People would bring him old watches and, you know,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10if he could get them working, he would repair them to give them back.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Others would just say, "I don't want it".
0:11:13 > 0:11:16So maybe he thought these were beyond repair...
0:11:16 > 0:11:18this is the residue, is it?
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Probably, we found lots of little parts of them as well.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24And any more watches in this envelope or not?
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Um, there's a couple of wrist watches, a few bits and pieces.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31- Do you mind if I just pour them all out?- No, I don't think...
0:11:31 > 0:11:34If they're like the last lot, there's not anything of great...
0:11:34 > 0:11:35That's about it.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40Um, well, on the whole it's nothing special, really,
0:11:40 > 0:11:46- a lot of stainless steel schoolboy type watches.- Right.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51- But that sort of suddenly makes it all come alive a bit, doesn't it? - Yes.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Typical World War I silver wrist watch.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Did you know this was in there?
0:11:57 > 0:12:02No, no. Well, I knew there was watches, but I hadn't really looked at them in any detail.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05How do you know it's World War I?
0:12:05 > 0:12:07The dial is the absolute giveaway.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10These large numerals and the hands,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14some dials were left plain but many had luminous paint.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16This one has not got luminous paint.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- Right.- And hopefully there'll be a set of hallmarks inside
0:12:19 > 0:12:22so I'll be able to tell you whether it's,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24sort of, 1914, 1918, something like that.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27And, actually, it's rather nicer than that.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32Because there is the word "Rolex"
0:12:32 > 0:12:36and there's "W" and "D", which is the Wilsdorf case,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39and you've got a full set of import marks,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42it's come in through London in 1916.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46- Oh, very old then. - For a wrist watch it is quite old.
0:12:46 > 0:12:52- Yes.- It's also signed "Rolex" here, so it's the real thing.- Wonderful.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55And this is the jewel amongst...
0:12:55 > 0:12:58if I can be so rude to say the rest of the rubbish.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03- Brilliant.- And you, you never thought that that actually was a good piece on its own?
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Well, it doesn't say "Rolex" does it?
0:13:05 > 0:13:07It doesn't on the dial, no, it doesn't.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11If it said "Rolex" on the dial it would be even better
0:13:11 > 0:13:14but then, of course, you wouldn't have missed it, would you?
0:13:14 > 0:13:18- No, no, absolutely not.- Now we know what it is, £600 at auction.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Brilliant, that's wonderful.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23- Are you happier?- Yeah, that's lovely. Thank you.- Good.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Do you know, if my granddad could come back from the dead
0:13:28 > 0:13:33to find that his grandson was paying the best part of twelve shillings for a bottle of water,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35that's 60p to a certain generation,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39he'd want me certified. We just take water for granted though, don't we?
0:13:39 > 0:13:43- We do.- We really do and you've brought along what has to be
0:13:43 > 0:13:48the most incredible Art Deco water filter that I've ever cast eyes on.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52So are you going to tell me that this was originally in
0:13:52 > 0:13:55The Queen's or The Griffin Hotel here in Leeds and was, you know,
0:13:55 > 0:14:00sort of people were supping that, you know, in the '20's and '30's?
0:14:00 > 0:14:02- Not really.- No, well where's it been?
0:14:02 > 0:14:04It's been on a farm.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09- In a shed, it's been.- No, no, it originally started in a farmhouse.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Me Gran and me Grandad had it in farmhouse
0:14:11 > 0:14:15and it was handed down to me parents and then handed down to us.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20- Right.- But originally it was on the draining board of this farmhouse
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and me grandparents had two drums, oil drums,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27outside on each side of the door as you're going in, full of rainwater,
0:14:27 > 0:14:32and I think that's what they were doing, purifying the rain water.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34I'm not quite sure about it really.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Right, well it's remarkable to think that more people died
0:14:37 > 0:14:41through drinking water than they ever did anything else,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43- so small beer was a safer option. - Yes.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45But I've had a sneaky look underneath this.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49I don't know who made it, all I know is it's the first one I've seen
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and I just love this decoration,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55this wonderful decoration, nice stylish, geometric. What's it worth?
0:14:55 > 0:14:59- How do you value something you've never seen before?- Don't know.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04Um, well I think, you know, bearing in mind I don't know the maker, there's no mark,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07it's got to be £300 or £400 of somebody's money.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11I'm just trying to work out how many bottles of water that would equate to.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16What I call this is, to me, is a universal friend.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Oh, I see, a universal friend.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21- What do you call it? - It thought it was a chaise lounge.
0:15:21 > 0:15:22- Right.- A little one.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Yeah, absolutely, it is a little chaise longue, the reason why
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I say that is because it's got an interesting story behind it.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Well, it was made by my great grandfather for me father
0:15:32 > 0:15:38- but unfortunately he only died about three months after me grandfather was born.- Really?
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Yes, because in those days they put it on a hand cart,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44they couldn't get it in the back of a wagon and, pushing it round,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46he caught his leg on a rusty nail,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49got gangrene in it and unfortunately he died.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53- Oh, what a sad way...- Yeah, yeah, sad that, really sad, yeah.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56- In fact, I've got a photo of me grandfather.- Let's have a look.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Thank you, and this is the gentleman who made it?
0:15:59 > 0:16:01That's the gentleman who made it, yes, yes.
0:16:01 > 0:16:02So me grandfather sat in it,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05me father sat in it, me brother and meself have sat in it,
0:16:05 > 0:16:07my daughters have sat in it,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09and the grandchildren are sitting in it now, so...
0:16:09 > 0:16:13So that's why I give it the term 'universal friend'.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16- Yeah, because everybody's been... - Who hasn't sat on it?
0:16:16 > 0:16:21- Even me wife's sat on it, yeah. - Really?- Oh, she has, yeah.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Oh, it's lovely, it's a real treasure as a piece as a whole
0:16:25 > 0:16:30because, you know, to find one in scale is quite unique
0:16:30 > 0:16:35- because you see these miniature pieces and they don't quite work. - No.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37This, to me, works in every way.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40What date is this... when was it made?
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Well, me granddad were born 1904 so it would be around that,
0:16:45 > 0:16:51you know 1904 or 1903 when me great grandmother were expecting,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53you know, and me grandfather was alive.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Are you familiar with the wood? Do you know what wood it is?
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Well, it's mahogany it is, yeah.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00- It's actually walnut. - It's walnut is it? Oh, right.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05Yes, a lot of people would have thought, at first glance, it is mahogany but it's actually walnut.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10Oh, that's bad news because I'm a cabinet maker and I've been one all me life and...
0:17:10 > 0:17:13We all make mistakes.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15I thought it were mahogany.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17No, it's walnut.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22- Um, these are the original castors, these ceramic castors.- Yeah.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24With little gilt lacquer collars.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28- Obviously the upholstery...- Oh, it's been reupholstered, we had that done.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33But when you squeeze it, you can hear the horse hair underneath so that's original.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- Oh, my friends, the old style upholstery.- Brilliant.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40I mean, all the turnings are individually turned because they're all not exactly the same.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42They're all slightly different, aren't they?
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Yes, I did notice that yeah, every one just a slight variation on a theme.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49- And this incised carving.- Yeah. - It's sweet, it's absolutely sweet.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52This is a real collector's piece
0:17:52 > 0:17:56and I would put a value on this between £600 and £800,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59but this would sell very, very quickly
0:17:59 > 0:18:01- because it's just so desirable. - Yeah, yeah.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04But, please assure me, it will not leave the family.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Oh, no, it won't leave the family, it won't leave the family.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Well, this is a magnificent ring, isn't it?
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- Tell me, where did you find it? - In a field just outside Doncaster.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15- And how did you find it? - With a metal detector.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19- Ah, and what do you think about him with a metal detector? - I think it's very interesting.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23- Do you go out with him?- No, no, no. - Is it the other woman, really?- Yes.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26There always is another woman in one way or another, this is the best sort.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29What did you feel like when you found that?
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- It was quite near to the A1.- Yes.
0:18:31 > 0:18:37And I'd been there a few days prior and the only thing I'd found was a couple of cruddy Roman coins.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41- Cruddy Roman coins! Well, that would satisfy me actually.- Yeah.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45But you've raised the stakes enormously, haven't you,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48because what you've found is an utterly magnificent
0:18:48 > 0:18:52courtly gold ring with a crystal intaglio on the inside.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Tell me what you know about it.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Well, the... it's called the brazen serpent.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01The intaglio on the front is called the brazen... the subject matter of the...
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The subject matter, yes, is called the brazen serpent.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09- Yes.- And there's the cruciform with the serpent wrapped round it, Moses praying and a corpse at the side.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14- Yes.- And if you look in the book of Numbers, Chapter 12, verse 8, it tells you all about it.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18And you're so in love with this thing, that you can do it just like that, chapter and verse.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23Well, I'm telling you, if I found this thing, there would be nobody more in love with it than me.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26It presumably dates from about 1580.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32It has been to the Northern European Museum and they said 1500 to 1520.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37Yes, and we know it's a very high status ring because it does have a rock crystal intaglio on the front,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41which would have been coloured at the back and foiled with silver.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43- Yes.- And it would be a very bright effect.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Curiously enough, these references to Biblical quotations,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48these rebuses, which is what it is,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51it's a visual interpretation of the Bible,
0:19:51 > 0:19:53are not only what they are at face value,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56but they also have a talismanic significance all of their own.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00The brazen serpent is associated with all things medical.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05- Yes.- And it may be that the owner of this courtly ring was worried about his health,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10he may even have been a medical practitioner who was using it as a talismanic purposes of his own,
0:20:10 > 0:20:11and as I look at it here,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15I can see that there are traces of black enamel - champleve enamel -
0:20:15 > 0:20:21it's dropped into the surface of the gold and the condition of it is very far from perfect.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26- Yes.- And, in a funny way, that couldn't matter less to me, I don't really mind at all.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30I can see everything that the goldsmith wanted to tell us.
0:20:30 > 0:20:36I can almost see the owner of this passing over the field where you found it, in some way or another,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40and your joy in finding it is exactly paralleled by his anxiety in losing it,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43so here we have one of your ancestors, one of mine,
0:20:43 > 0:20:48- losing something of very high status indeed, going through all the agonies of that.- Yes.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51And then, 400 years later, you come along
0:20:51 > 0:20:57and it's immediately paralleled by your excitement and your ecstasy at finding it.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02You can value these, because the only reason that we recognise what they are is through precedent,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and there are magnificent collections of rings
0:21:05 > 0:21:07in the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09If such a ring was perfect,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- it would be immensely valuable if it was in mint condition.- Yes.
0:21:13 > 0:21:14It really would be.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18I mean, £25,000 would not be out of the question for this ring.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22But, life being what it is, the plough has hit it,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26it's been turned over and the intaglio is cracked.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30The shape of it is distorted, the enamel has gone.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34I don't mind a bit and, in this condition,
0:21:34 > 0:21:39perhaps it's worth £4,000, £5,000. Who cares?
0:21:39 > 0:21:42It's got all the magic of something from the English Renaissance
0:21:42 > 0:21:46and I couldn't be more thrilled to see it, thank you very much.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48- Thank you.- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:21:48 > 0:21:54- I saw this from a distance and I knew instantly what it was.- Yes.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Japanese lacquer, inlaid in ivory,
0:21:57 > 0:22:03showing the scene of a Japanese hero killing a serpent
0:22:03 > 0:22:08and then I got close to it and thought, "Ooooh."
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- It's brilliant.- You don't regret then, picking on it?
0:22:12 > 0:22:16- No, I don't, I think it's a magical object.- Yes.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20- Well, we can see what it is from the back.- Yes.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21- Royal Worcester.- Yes.
0:22:21 > 0:22:27Printed mark, and the date, 1876.
0:22:27 > 0:22:33- Yes.- And also the impressed mark as well.- Yes.
0:22:33 > 0:22:39Now, Worcester was one of only two or three factories
0:22:39 > 0:22:46who satisfactorily, at this date, in the '70s and '80s,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49made copies, or inspired by,
0:22:49 > 0:22:55Japanese lacquer, ivory, wood, you name it.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57They did it brilliantly.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Perhaps Worcester was the best.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05The wheel is actually a Mon of one of the Samurai
0:23:05 > 0:23:11and that's who this will be, and one can check it up.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Do you love it?
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Yes. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21- A friend bought it in the '50s, for seven and six, at auction.- Gosh!
0:23:23 > 0:23:25And, um, this friend of mine said,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27"Right, when I die, you can have that."
0:23:27 > 0:23:31And maybe you were ticking the days off.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Not quite, not quite.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38Well, a Royal Worcester collector would probably not want it.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44- They like, sort of, peach bloom and little landscapes and stuff. - Yes.
0:23:44 > 0:23:50Um, the aesthetic movement people would be the ones who would want this
0:23:50 > 0:23:55and I think, because they're into kind of quirky things,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59this would be high up on their shopping list.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04In 35-40 years, I've never seen this particular one.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06I don't suppose they made many of it.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10I think it would make... I'm going to go out on a limb here,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12everybody's going to tell me I'm mad...
0:24:12 > 0:24:17I think that would make between £2,000 and £3,000.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19You've got good taste.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22- Thank you very much.- You're welcome.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26- This has got to be the ultimate gentleman's toy.- I'm sure.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31From the Edwardian period, but I wonder how gentlemanly you might think it is
0:24:31 > 0:24:37that he's comparing a rather glamorous beautiful looking Edwardian lady with a race horse.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39I don't like it, the idea at all, really.
0:24:39 > 0:24:40But it's a beautiful thing, I must admit.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43It is a beautiful thing, he's favourably comparing this lady
0:24:43 > 0:24:46with a race horse, but he's doing so, none the less.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49On the bottom it says, "Where thoroughbreds meet"
0:24:49 > 0:24:52which presumably refers to a race track where he finds
0:24:52 > 0:24:56the two things he's most interested in...horses and Edwardian ladies.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58- And women, yes.- If we open it up,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01we can see that it's hallmarked for London 1909,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03which is, of course, the end of the Edwardian era
0:25:03 > 0:25:07and a time where woman are thinking more about getting votes
0:25:07 > 0:25:10and stopping being treated like race horses for a change.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15- Indeed.- It's 18 carat gold, it's beautifully enamelled on the front
0:25:15 > 0:25:20with a very glamorous Edwardian lady tickling the chin of a race horse.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24- Yes.- And as you know, presumably, it's a vesta case.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26- Is it?- For striking matches. Have you always had it?
0:25:26 > 0:25:28No, I believe it was my father's.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Ah, but he wasn't the first owner, I take it?
0:25:30 > 0:25:35- No, it was given to him by... he forgot who gave it to him actually. - What a lovely present.- Mm.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38And you approve of this comparison between ladies and horses?
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Well, not really, no.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42But I still think it's a beautiful thing.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44It's a beautiful, beautiful thing.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48- Vesta cases are extremely well covered as a collector's area.- Yeah.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50And this is a very rare vesta case.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54As a consequence, good rare vesta cases tend to attract an awful lot of interest.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- Right.- I think you'd be very hard pressed
0:25:57 > 0:26:00- to go and buy this for less than about £3,000.- Wow!
0:26:02 > 0:26:06I think this is an astonishing image, because here is Ghandi,
0:26:06 > 0:26:08as far as I can see, not only photographed
0:26:08 > 0:26:12but I imagine actually in Britain and in the North of England.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14How does this come about?
0:26:14 > 0:26:18These are my two grandparents, Percy Davis and Kathleen
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and my grandfather owned three cotton mills
0:26:21 > 0:26:25and in 1931 he knew that Ghandi was going to come over to England
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and he wanted to invite Ghandi to come up to the cotton mills
0:26:29 > 0:26:33and look at the effects of the boycott the Indian Government
0:26:33 > 0:26:36was putting on the Lancashire cotton mills,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40look at the effect on the workers. It was causing unemployment.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42- Right, well let's go back a bit. - And hardship.
0:26:42 > 0:26:48The British textile industry was very dependent upon the Indian trade since the Victorian period.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53We...one of the purposes of Empire was to have a market for our goods,
0:26:53 > 0:27:00- a guaranteed market, and we sold textiles to India steadily through the 19th century.- Yes.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05But also, of course, in the fervour that built up towards independence,
0:27:05 > 0:27:10which was very strong in the 1930s, there was essentially - as you say -
0:27:10 > 0:27:14a boycott about not importing or not buying British goods,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17so it was very much a politically driven event.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21- Yes.- Which Ghandi, of course, was absolutely at the head of.- Yes.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Um, non violence and all that,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26but trade wars as aggressive as you like,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28and so I think it was very brave
0:27:28 > 0:27:32of your grandparents to get him involved,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34but he agreed, he came up here.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Yeah, I think the whole visit was arranged by this particular man here.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41- Yeah.- And so he came to stay in my grandparents' house.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- So he stayed there?- Yeah, he slept in my father's bedroom,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47and my father was away at school actually,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50- but my uncle was there at the time. - So that's your grandmother again.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53- Yeah, that's right. - Is that at their house?
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- Yeah and that's my uncle there, Uncle Ron.- Right.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58The other one, I mean, I like very much this picture
0:27:58 > 0:28:01because, of course, this is about the change of idea.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05Here is Ghandi meeting mill workers' families.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07- Mm, that's right. - And he could see the problems,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10the hardships that his policy was causing,
0:28:10 > 0:28:14and I think this is a very important change of direction because,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16I mean, he went back and he changed it, didn't he?
0:28:16 > 0:28:20I gather it changed a couple of years later or so, I'm not sure.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Yes, I mean he didn't drop the boycott completely.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26But he realised that you couldn't generate, sort of, world peace
0:28:26 > 0:28:28by putting people out of work.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Yeah. I think he was very sympathetic to the workers
0:28:31 > 0:28:34but he did say that his workers were affected far more,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38far more people affected in India than they were in Lancashire.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41- I think it's true, but he still took this on board.- Yeah. - Now what's this?
0:28:41 > 0:28:43That's the letter from Ghandi.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45- God, it's a letter, signed "Ghandi". - Yes, signed by Ghandi.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48That's a wonderful thing, so this is after he's stayed.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51"I have delayed too long in thanking you and your husband
0:28:51 > 0:28:54"for your wonderful kindness to me and all my party when you received
0:28:54 > 0:28:58"as guests in your beautiful farmhouse last Saturday and Sunday."
0:28:58 > 0:29:00- So he stayed for the weekend.- Yeah.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02"I shall not forget the peace and beauty of that Sabbath
0:29:02 > 0:29:07"and I deeply hope that its results may lead to permanent goodwill and friendship."
0:29:07 > 0:29:09- He's saying it all, isn't he?- Yeah.
0:29:09 > 0:29:14He's sorted this out, negotiated a peaceful development to both advantages.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18- I think it's, it's a wonderful vision on a bit of history.- Yeah.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22And I think your grandparents were obviously also very good politicians.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24They were Socialists, yeah.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29- Yeah, but they were battling for the Socialist principles which he, Ghandi, could share.- Yeah.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33I think it's a great story. Have you got tons of other stuff?
0:29:33 > 0:29:36- I've got quite...- I've got a lot of other stuff.- A basement full.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39- Really? Yeah. A big story. - Big chest full.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Well, the little bit I've seen here, as a vision of history,
0:29:42 > 0:29:48I think is probably, to a collector, worth, oh, you know, £5,000.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52- You know, in Indian history this is important.- Yeah.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56- Indians are great collectors.- Yeah. - They would all buy this back now.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59- Really?- It's their history as well as our history.
0:29:59 > 0:30:00Yeah, that's interesting.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02So it has a great future as a great story.
0:30:06 > 0:30:11I understand this is a relic from the BBC's past so, Geoff, tell me about it.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Well, um, in about the late '70s
0:30:13 > 0:30:17I was doing sound effects for the local drama group
0:30:17 > 0:30:22and I needed something to switch things and amplify things on stage
0:30:22 > 0:30:26so I came across this in a local warehouse in Leeds
0:30:26 > 0:30:31and it turns out it's a BBC outside broadcast unit from the '50s.
0:30:31 > 0:30:32I don't even know where to begin...
0:30:32 > 0:30:36- so you've got a light, is this a cue light?- That's your cue light, yes.
0:30:36 > 0:30:37OK, that I am familiar with.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41So I can switch that on and off from here, from the control panel
0:30:41 > 0:30:44and you'd have somebody stood in front of the microphone
0:30:44 > 0:30:46on tenterhooks waiting to speak and you say,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49"When the red light goes out, you can start," you see.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Oh, I see, what I'm used to is when the red light goes on.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54- And then it's recorded on here? - Yeah.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Now, so what kind of things did they used to say into this, into this kind of kit?
0:30:58 > 0:31:03Well, I mean, I've been told that this is actually 1950 onwards
0:31:03 > 0:31:06so they wouldn't have done war time broadcasts, but you can imagine,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09"Boom, boom, boom, boom... this is London calling."
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Everyone's nodding behind you here, yeah.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15Everybody...a load of people here remember it
0:31:15 > 0:31:18but I've got a couple of little scripts here which I've prepared
0:31:18 > 0:31:21and these are actual, these are actual broadcasts.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23- OK.- Which Alvar Liddell did during the war.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Oh, I've got to have a go. Right, shall we have a go?
0:31:26 > 0:31:28What do you think? All right, into this.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30Are you ready, so when the red light goes out...
0:31:30 > 0:31:33- Will you record it? - I'll get recording, OK?
0:31:33 > 0:31:36Here is the news and this is Fiona Bruce reading it.
0:31:36 > 0:31:42"The three fighting services have carried out another small night raid, details are not yet available.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45"Our bombers have attacked aerodromes in the Low Countries
0:31:45 > 0:31:47"and again mined enemy waters." What do you think?
0:31:47 > 0:31:53- Very good.- Oh, you're just saying that. Can we hear it back?
0:31:53 > 0:31:55I think you probably can, yes.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59'Here is the news and this is Fiona Bruce reading it.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03'The three fighting services have carried out another small night raid...'
0:32:03 > 0:32:06I don't think that's posh enough for then.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09No, no, you're not quite right for BBC sound radio.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11I'm going to need elocution lessons.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14I have heard they're setting up a new service called the television service.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16Right, I might give that a go.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18Seek out a new career,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Geoff, thanks very much.
0:32:23 > 0:32:24It was on an internet site.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28I were after a garden statue, I'd just finished the back garden,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31I put a bid in on it and I left it for three days,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34and three days later I found out I'd won it.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36So I had to go and collect it in Barnsley.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40- So how much did you pay for it?- £20.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42- Right, OK.- It was starting bid.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44And a lot of hard work carrying.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48Well, I'm staggered that you can buy something like this for £20.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Did you know how big it was when you, when you bid for it?
0:32:51 > 0:32:56They did give a description of the length and the size, but I thought it were an exaggeration.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58- OK.- They said it were over five foot.
0:32:58 > 0:33:04Well, five foot and five ton I think because it's just taken eight burly fellas to bring this in today.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08- Yeah, sure.- So is this, is this something that he came home with
0:33:08 > 0:33:11and you said, "What have you done?"
0:33:11 > 0:33:13I said, "Will it fit in t' attic?".
0:33:13 > 0:33:17- In t'attic?- In t'attic, yeah, cos I didn't know how heavy it was.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20And then he wanted to put it on t'dining room table
0:33:20 > 0:33:21but, I mean, I said,
0:33:21 > 0:33:25"What happens at Christmas, then? We won't be able to eat us dinner."
0:33:25 > 0:33:28Can we have a look at it? Because, you know, from a distance
0:33:28 > 0:33:30when I saw this, I thought, "Oh, what a great bronze,"
0:33:30 > 0:33:35because it looks, to all intents and purposes like bronze,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38and to be honest with you, I was thinking big names
0:33:38 > 0:33:42and thinking maybe it's Bugatti, maybe it's Rembrandt Bugatti,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46the great sculptor from, you know, the early 1900s,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49but it's from a little bit further south, isn't it?
0:33:49 > 0:33:51I think it's Africa.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55Well, I think you know more about it than I do, in that department.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58I have looked it a little bit and I've looked at this R Josamu
0:33:58 > 0:34:02and I'm not sure if it's spelt like that, I think it's Josiramu.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04I think it's Robert Josiramu.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08- Whoever this man is, he's very, very clever.- I think he's a genius.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10I, well, I'll go with the flow on that one,
0:34:10 > 0:34:14but I'm assuming that this has been carved in the last 20-30 years.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17I don't think it's of any... not of any great age.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Yeah, I know it's not an antique, I do appreciate that.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24No. Normally when you see African carvings, they're normally...
0:34:24 > 0:34:27- first of all they're in like soapstone or steatite.- Right.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29And this one is in serpentine,
0:34:29 > 0:34:32but let's have a look at the composition.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36- Right.- Because first of all it is, literally, a herd of elephants.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39And, you see, when I look at this,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42I can only marvel at this man's ingenuity,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45because this chap's looked at a block of stone
0:34:45 > 0:34:47and he's seen it for what it is,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50because I love the way he's textured it.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53- Exactly.- You do get that lovely leathery...and those ears!
0:34:53 > 0:34:55I know, it's stunning, isn't it?
0:34:55 > 0:34:58They're just stunning and they've been polished.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59What are you going to do with it?
0:34:59 > 0:35:02You're keeping it where at the moment?
0:35:02 > 0:35:05Well, it was actually intended to go at side of pond in t'garden
0:35:05 > 0:35:08and now I've seen what it is, I got in touch with Leeds City Museum
0:35:08 > 0:35:13- and they're doing an anthropology display or study and it's lasting five years.- Yes.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15So I've asked them if they want it.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18- It should be touched.- Yeah, I've been doing it ever since it arrived.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20I don't want this locked up in my house.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23I want 1,000, 10,000 people to come and touch it.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25I want them to touch it like my grandchildren do.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28- I don't mind them sitting on it. - Hang on, hang on.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32At moment it's on t'floor behind the dining room table
0:35:32 > 0:35:33so you can't see...
0:35:33 > 0:35:37you've actually to walk in to look at it, so it's wasted.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42I honestly believe that if I went, you know, into the right gallery,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45I wouldn't be surprised to see a price tag, not of £800,
0:35:45 > 0:35:50I wouldn't be surprised to see a price tag of nearer £5,000 on something like this.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53So I don't know if that's colouring your vision and your...
0:35:53 > 0:35:55because I think it's a very noble...
0:35:55 > 0:35:58- I don't care what it's worth. - You don't?
0:35:58 > 0:36:00I'll do my best to get it over to that gallery.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02I'm going over to see them this afternoon.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Do you know, I'm a really nosy person,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07I'm also one of those unprincipled people
0:36:07 > 0:36:09who read other people's diaries.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12- And I guess you are as well. - Yes, definitely.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15So this is a diary, tell me about whose diary it was
0:36:15 > 0:36:18and whose private business you have been nosing into.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Well, this is a Mr George Needle
0:36:21 > 0:36:26and he was my father's great, great, great grandfather
0:36:26 > 0:36:31and he was a stage coach driver for the Royal Mail.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35Oh, right. So he's really sort of recording the end of an era.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38He is, definitely, history in the making, what he's done.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42Just at the time when these mail coaches were starting to really
0:36:42 > 0:36:46go away from the scene and trains and things were starting to come in.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50- Yes.- So it's a real look at Queen Victoria's England, isn't it?
0:36:50 > 0:36:55Now, we've got a couple of pistols here as well, what's the connection to the diary?
0:36:55 > 0:37:00The pistols is what...obviously, he took passengers on the coach
0:37:00 > 0:37:03and obviously the mail as well,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07but for protection from the highwaymen and that,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11he would give the little gun to the ladies, sitting in the back,
0:37:11 > 0:37:15for protection, and obviously he would use it, or his guard.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19I think that's very interesting, and there's a reference in the diary,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22isn't there, to pistols being cleaned at Lancaster.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Yes, he's actually stated that he had to clean...
0:37:25 > 0:37:30- Now I think that the pistols that were cleaned at Lancaster were not these two pistols.- Don't you think?
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Because the Mail would be issued with its own pistols
0:37:33 > 0:37:38and they would be much bigger and much more effective than these two.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42This one here is a cheap little Birmingham pocket pistol that,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45when it was made, if you'd have paid five shillings for it,
0:37:45 > 0:37:49it would have been probably about right, so really very cheap.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51- Perfectly effective, one shot.- Yes.
0:37:51 > 0:37:56But not really the thing that you would want to guard a mail coach with.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00- No.- The other one's a bit more interesting because if you've
0:38:00 > 0:38:03only got one go with that, then you've got six with this one
0:38:03 > 0:38:08and it's an early type of revolver that we call a pepper box
0:38:08 > 0:38:12and it differs from a true revolver because the barrels
0:38:12 > 0:38:15are all put together in a group
0:38:15 > 0:38:18rather than having a rotating cylinder
0:38:18 > 0:38:21that shoots through a single barrel.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24But this is known as a Cooper type pepperbox
0:38:24 > 0:38:26and it will have been made in Birmingham
0:38:26 > 0:38:29in about the sort of 1840s, 1850s.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Value, with these two nice associated pistols,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35probably about £500 the lot,
0:38:35 > 0:38:37but I think it's worth so much more than that
0:38:37 > 0:38:40because you're listening to somebody who's saying,
0:38:40 > 0:38:41who's telling you about his...
0:38:41 > 0:38:44well, he probably thought it was a very ordinary life,
0:38:44 > 0:38:48but I think that's what makes it an absolutely extraordinary piece.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51- Thanks for bringing it.- Thank you.
0:38:51 > 0:38:56For about seven years I was out of work, due to medical reasons,
0:38:56 > 0:38:59and in order to do something productive,
0:38:59 > 0:39:02I volunteered in a charity shop
0:39:02 > 0:39:07but eventually, you know, my long term aspirations are to work
0:39:07 > 0:39:10and so I identified this as a potential way
0:39:10 > 0:39:12of working my way off Benefit.
0:39:12 > 0:39:18I've always been fascinated by glass and so these are the pieces which I've amassed, or some of them.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23OK, so you're asking for my opinion as to whether you've got the eye, basically?
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Absolutely, really, yes, yes.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28So what sort of money are you paying for these things?
0:39:28 > 0:39:34Ranges from some which are a bit more expensive, in the £10 range
0:39:34 > 0:39:38and some which are a bit cheaper, in the £2 range.
0:39:38 > 0:39:46OK. Well, I've arranged these very specifically into the league divisions.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49The premiership is actually empty, there is nothing...
0:39:49 > 0:39:53- if there were another rail, the premiership would be here.- Right.
0:39:53 > 0:39:54- But you have no premiership.- Right.
0:39:54 > 0:40:00You have first division, second division and third division.
0:40:00 > 0:40:06- Right.- So your stuff with limited commercial value is here and your best things are here.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09- Right. - So where are you finding this stuff?
0:40:09 > 0:40:13Um, mostly in charity shops, boot sales occasionally
0:40:13 > 0:40:17and then the odd piece I've been quite adventurous with
0:40:17 > 0:40:19and got in an antique shop.
0:40:19 > 0:40:20- How much was that?- £20.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Well, that's a nice piece of Murano, Sommerso,
0:40:24 > 0:40:25and that's a nice thing,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28I mean, it's not up on this top shelf by accident.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30My personal favourites here,
0:40:30 > 0:40:34you've got a nice Perthshire paperweight here, that's 40 quidder,
0:40:34 > 0:40:36so how much did you pay for that?
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Um, £2.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41You know, so you know that's where you've got to be concentrating.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44My favourite things here are these little candlesticks
0:40:44 > 0:40:47- by Erik Hoglund, he's a Swede. - Hoglund.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49Hoglund, it's a signed piece,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53made by Boda, really attractive very zappy, they're £100 the pair.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57- How much did you pay for them? - £2 the pair.- Learn!
0:40:57 > 0:41:01You're getting there, you know, if you can concentrate, look at this,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05this is a really nice quality piece of Murano glass,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07very nicely made, quality is what...
0:41:07 > 0:41:09that's look, this is quality.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11Look at how all these concentric lines
0:41:11 > 0:41:13are all fitted in there by trails.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17- That's a nice piece, how much did you pay for it?- £15 that.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Yeah you're getting a little, little toppy for something that's worth £40,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22so you just get your prices down.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25This is very nice antique glass, these are look pieces,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28this is a nice antique, I mean you're getting there, you know,
0:41:28 > 0:41:30but you've got to move up.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34But I'm behind you, you know, so learn, that's what you've got to do,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37but I think you've got, you concentrate uphill on this stuff
0:41:37 > 0:41:38and I think you can do it.
0:41:38 > 0:41:39- Thank you.- Be courageous.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42I'm hugely grateful for your input, thank you very much indeed.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44You're most welcome. Good luck.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50So, yours or a family piece or how did you get it?
0:41:50 > 0:41:52Well, it comes from my grandfather
0:41:52 > 0:41:55and he had a big collection of clocks and watches
0:41:55 > 0:42:00and when he died he left them to different members of the family.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02So do you know anything about it at all?
0:42:02 > 0:42:05I know it's got this chime on it that chimes three times, I think,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08with the quarter of an hour, I used to play with that when I was a child.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12- OK, it's very typically French looking.- Right.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16- Typical miniature carriage time piece.- Uh-huh.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18And look at this lovely dial, isn't that so pretty?
0:42:18 > 0:42:22- It's beautiful, isn't it?- Sort of mauve translucent enamel.- Yeah.
0:42:22 > 0:42:27- Lovely filigree hands and lovely bands of little gilt decoration there, absolutely charming.- Yes.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29But the give away, as you said,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32that it's a repeater, is the knob on the top,
0:42:32 > 0:42:36- and that's presumably what you played with as a youngster.- Yes.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41Well, the other give away, of course, is we can see the two gongs
0:42:41 > 0:42:44and I'm going to press the button now
0:42:44 > 0:42:46and you should see and hear it all.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49BELL CHIMES
0:42:56 > 0:43:01So, as you see, it did the hours and then the ding-dong for each quarter.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06You have to imagine 100 and odd years ago when people travelled,
0:43:06 > 0:43:08particularly to house parties,
0:43:08 > 0:43:12there were very very few houses with gas or electric light,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15so you could have had this on your bedside
0:43:15 > 0:43:18and if you wanted to know the time in the dead of night,
0:43:18 > 0:43:25- you could just have leaned out and pressed that, and it always repeats to the preceding quarter.- Right.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27So even at one minute to 11,
0:43:27 > 0:43:32- it will still do what it did then, which is 10:45.- Wow! Great.
0:43:32 > 0:43:37I love it, if that came on the market now, at auction.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40- Uh-huh.- About £3,000.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43Wow! I was expecting you'd say a couple of hundred.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47Listen, if I saw it in a shop for a couple of hundred, I'd be a happy boy.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54Seeing two little boxes like this is a really great pleasure. Where did you get them from?
0:43:54 > 0:43:58Well, they've come down through the generations of my mother's family
0:43:58 > 0:44:01and I can remember seeing them as a child at my grandparents' house.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05We know nothing about the date they were purchased prior,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08so there's no provenance, no letters or receipts.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11They just suddenly appeared. They were there.
0:44:11 > 0:44:16As a small child they were in my grandparents' sitting room, one each side of the sideboard.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19And could you remember them ever using them?
0:44:19 > 0:44:20No, they were just there for show.
0:44:20 > 0:44:25- Oh, I see, so they're like trophies. - That's right, yes.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28- What I find very interesting is the tops of them.- Yes.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30- Um, these little prints.- Yes.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34They're after an Irish illustrator, Adam Buck,
0:44:34 > 0:44:39- and there are people who collect Adam Buck prints.- Yes.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41And when you see these little prints,
0:44:41 > 0:44:43they will, they're a real collector's dream.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45Oh, are they? That's interesting.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48- They're lovely. Do you know what wood they're made out of?- No.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52- Is it walnut? - It's actually burr yew. - Burr yew, oh.- Oh, really?
0:44:52 > 0:44:55I can see where you're coming from with walnut,
0:44:55 > 0:44:59- because it's like that, burry.- Yes. - But it's yew wood.
0:44:59 > 0:45:00These are Regency.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03- Yes.- They're made about 1810.- Yes.
0:45:03 > 0:45:051810-1815.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08- Right.- Would you open that one for me, please, sir?
0:45:08 > 0:45:12Aren't they delightful? They are absolutely exquisite,
0:45:12 > 0:45:14- this is fantastic, isn't it?- Yes.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Whether this is the original... do we know?
0:45:17 > 0:45:20I think it is because I know that they did tapestries as well
0:45:20 > 0:45:22so it probably is original, yes.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26- Right, because there would have been lots of little spoils of silks in here.- Yes.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29- And no doubt over the years they've...- They've used.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34- They've been used or they've just rotted away.- That's right, yes.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37- Very, very pretty, so nice to see the tray full.- Yes.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41And, yeah, on both of them, both of them, very, very pretty.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44That's superb, thank you, thank you.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Wonderful little gilt mounts,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50little lion paw feet, as I say, Regency.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54Now the 64,000 question... what are they worth?
0:45:54 > 0:45:58In today's market, which is rather volatile,
0:45:58 > 0:46:03I would say these are worth between £3,000 and £5,000.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06In all the years I've been in the business,
0:46:06 > 0:46:08I haven't seen a pair like this before.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12I would call them a matched pair, because they're not mirror image,
0:46:12 > 0:46:14but they must be extremely rare and I think they're,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17I think they're wonderful, they're wonderful things.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Thank you. We're very proud to own them, yes, thank you.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25I don't think I've ever seen a sadder looking ivory
0:46:25 > 0:46:28but there's something quite sort of charming about it.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30That's right, I've always been very fond of it.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32It was from my grandparents.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35My grandfather was a painter/decorator in Bradford
0:46:35 > 0:46:39and he was, from what we understand he was paid with the ivory,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41probably in the 1920s or 1930s
0:46:41 > 0:46:44but we don't know any more of the story than that.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47That's the story that's been handed down in the family.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50- And do you like him? - I love him, I think he's lovely
0:46:50 > 0:46:52and it's also a connection to the fact
0:46:52 > 0:46:55he was always there in my grandparents house.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58- And you remember it as a child? - Yes, that's right.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00It's Dieppe ivory which is French Normandy coast
0:47:00 > 0:47:05and that is really the centre for carved ivory figures like this.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08But it's such an unusual carved figure,
0:47:08 > 0:47:10being a tramp or a sort of vagabond,
0:47:10 > 0:47:13but the detail on it is really quite stunning.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15I mean, with Dieppe ivories,
0:47:15 > 0:47:17they imported the ivory from West Africa
0:47:17 > 0:47:20and it was the centre of carved ivory making
0:47:20 > 0:47:21since the sort of 16th century,
0:47:21 > 0:47:24but in the late 19th century there was a huge demand
0:47:24 > 0:47:28for these sorts of things, but this is such an unusual piece.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32The quality... I mean, even to have the back carved like that,
0:47:32 > 0:47:33the way his jacket is torn,
0:47:33 > 0:47:37the quality is really mind-blowing actually.
0:47:37 > 0:47:38And the detail on the carving,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41I mean, you can see there the sad expression on his face
0:47:41 > 0:47:44and the way he's got his hands tucked underneath his shirt
0:47:44 > 0:47:46and it's just so beautifully carved.
0:47:46 > 0:47:51I mean, the skill, and all of this was carved with drills and then polished off and chiselled by hand.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55So the amount of hours in this piece is staggering really.
0:47:55 > 0:47:56So the value I'd have thought
0:47:56 > 0:47:59would be comfortably sort of £600 to £800,
0:47:59 > 0:48:02- which is what it would fetch today at auction.- Right, gosh, yes.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04He's just such a charming little thing.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07Is that sort of what you had in mind with the bill?
0:48:07 > 0:48:11No, I had no idea at all. It's just always been there and just today
0:48:11 > 0:48:14I was coming along and I thought I'd pop it in my back and see what,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17if I could find anything more out about it.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21Well, it's small but it's beautifully printed
0:48:21 > 0:48:27- and it has its driver and I love it. - Yes.- What made you bring it in?
0:48:27 > 0:48:31It was a last minute spur of the moment thing, brought something else
0:48:31 > 0:48:34- and I thought maybe I'll take the car as well.- Very good so...
0:48:34 > 0:48:38Because it has the provenance so that makes it more interesting.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43She has, "It has the provenance", she says, indicating a scrap of paper. What is that scrap of paper?
0:48:43 > 0:48:49- This was a gift to my late husband's uncle.- Right.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52His sister gave it to him on his 21st birthday
0:48:52 > 0:48:57and that sister was my late husband's mother, my mother-in-law.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59I'm still with you, but only just.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01What date was the birthday?
0:49:01 > 0:49:05- July 10th 1925, his 21st. - And what does this say?- This says,
0:49:05 > 0:49:10"Many Happy Returns for your 21st. For I've the key of the door, lads,
0:49:10 > 0:49:15I've the key of the door, I've never been 21 before, tra, la, la, la, la."
0:49:15 > 0:49:23- Excellent.- "I am paying the chauffeur 12 months wages in advance,
0:49:23 > 0:49:29"I have also filled her up with petrol and oil so that she won't cough.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31"I enclose a half pence,"
0:49:31 > 0:49:35- I would have thought she would have put "a halfpenny" in those days.- Yes.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39But, however, "So that you can get a drink on your travels,
0:49:39 > 0:49:43"your loving sister, Kathleen. Good bye." In inverted commas.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45- That's so great.- Isn't that lovely?
0:49:45 > 0:49:49So the car and the chauffeur with twelve month exploring,
0:49:49 > 0:49:52exploring the highways and byways of Britain in this.
0:49:52 > 0:49:57- Well, the car itself is a little German car but I think you knew that.- Yes, yes.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00- Because it actually does say. - It does actually say, yes.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03- "Made in Germany" on it. And it's what's known as a "penny toy". - Uh-huh.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06Originally these little toys may have been sold for a penny
0:50:06 > 0:50:11but actually I think this is a bit too sophisticated to be a proper penny toy.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13It could have been made by one of several manufacturers.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15The best known is a company called Mayer,
0:50:15 > 0:50:17and even though it's a tiny toy,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20these penny toys are very desirable these days
0:50:20 > 0:50:24and I wouldn't see any question that that would get in excess of £200
0:50:24 > 0:50:26- if it ever came to auction. - Goodness me.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28It's an absolute cracker.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32Thank you very much, that's really lovely and very interesting.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35I'm looking at your leaf dish to try and work out sort of what the design shows.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38It's sort of a bit smudged, isn't it?
0:50:38 > 0:50:43There's a Chinese fence with rock work and this is bamboo
0:50:43 > 0:50:49and then here we've got a rather curious sort of Buddhist emblem.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51A Buddhist emblem tied in ribbons.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53Have you thought about the design?
0:50:53 > 0:50:56Not really, I just like blue and white.
0:50:56 > 0:50:57Right, so are you a collector?
0:50:57 > 0:51:02More of a magpie. I just see things and if I like them and I can afford them, I buy them.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05- So where did you get this one from? - At the local second hand market.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08- Oh, right, recently? - Around six months to a year ago.
0:51:08 > 0:51:13- OK, what did it cost you, can I ask? - £35.- Right.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15Where do you think it was made?
0:51:15 > 0:51:20The design's Oriental but I think it's English.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23That's right because there you've got a Chinese scroll
0:51:23 > 0:51:25- rolled out there.- Ah.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28But the shape isn't Chinese at all.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31Curiously, the Chinese were not very good at moulding,
0:51:31 > 0:51:32and this is beautifully moulded.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35There you've got... it's a leaf, isn't it?
0:51:35 > 0:51:40You've got an entire vine leaf has been rolled out into the clay and the mould's made from that,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44that's a real leaf, so all the little veins there are...
0:51:44 > 0:51:46- there's a lot of detail.- Yes.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Um, it's terribly hard to paint on,
0:51:48 > 0:51:51so no wonder it's blurred a little bit.
0:51:51 > 0:51:56But it's a copy of the Chinese, any clues? Let's have a look.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Oh, there's a little mark there,
0:51:58 > 0:52:01is that a Chinese symbol?
0:52:01 > 0:52:05Oh, it's trying to be but that's a workman's mark, a little "tf",
0:52:05 > 0:52:09and that mark is the type of thing used early at Worcester.
0:52:09 > 0:52:14- Ah.- I'm getting quite excited seeing that, because looking at this glaze,
0:52:14 > 0:52:16it's not the hard whiteness of Chinese,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19it's a slightly creamy-bluey feel of Worcester
0:52:19 > 0:52:22and slightly misshapen, slightly primitive,
0:52:22 > 0:52:25and this is really quite early, right at the beginning
0:52:25 > 0:52:28of the factory when they were copying two things.
0:52:28 > 0:52:29They were copying the Chinese,
0:52:29 > 0:52:33which is the design straight out of a Chinese dish,
0:52:33 > 0:52:34and they were copying Meissen
0:52:34 > 0:52:38the great German porcelain from Dresden, from Meissen,
0:52:38 > 0:52:41and they specialised in leaf and plant shapes
0:52:41 > 0:52:45and the idea of a leaf dish is something straight out of Meissen.
0:52:45 > 0:52:51- And Worcester have copied that here in about 1754-55.- So early?
0:52:51 > 0:52:54That's very early.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57- So you've done quite well, haven't you?- Have I?
0:52:57 > 0:53:01- Have you any idea what you think it might be worth?- I've no idea.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06It's in such wonderful condition, it's so rare,
0:53:06 > 0:53:10- I mean, it's going to be, ooh, £3,500.- No!
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Really?
0:53:12 > 0:53:14Really?
0:53:15 > 0:53:19- Ooh, thank you very much. - It's fantastic.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21SHE LAUGHS
0:53:22 > 0:53:29Do you know there's something slightly unsettling about this doll asleep in this case.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31Tell me her story.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34It was passed to my mother
0:53:34 > 0:53:37and it was a relative, a child,
0:53:37 > 0:53:43and I don't know whether it was a cousin, or some other relative,
0:53:43 > 0:53:47but the little girl who owned it had been ill
0:53:47 > 0:53:51and the doll just laid on the bed for a few days
0:53:51 > 0:53:54and she died, did the little girl.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56Shortly after she died,
0:53:56 > 0:54:03the doll and all these little bits were put in this case and it was sealed,
0:54:03 > 0:54:06and then my mother got the doll
0:54:06 > 0:54:10and, of course, it was... I've known it all my life
0:54:10 > 0:54:14there and I've never really taken much notice of it.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16But today
0:54:16 > 0:54:19as it's been opened for the first time.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21So this is the very first time.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24- Yes.- In 100 years.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26That that doll has been opened.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29And it's the first time I've touched it.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32To see her laid there asleep,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36it's very emotional for me, very emotional.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39And you've known this doll all your life?
0:54:39 > 0:54:42Yes, she's...well, yes, as long as I can remember
0:54:42 > 0:54:45but she's been in my possession for more than 30 years now
0:54:45 > 0:54:48because she's been passed down to me from my mum.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51So when I got married, I took her to my new home.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53And that's just an amazing thing.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57Here is this doll with this tragic story of the little girl
0:54:57 > 0:55:02and she's been in this case and now today we're going to take her out
0:55:02 > 0:55:06to look at her and find out a little bit more about her.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10- It's really exciting.- Yes, I mean, she's a very, very beautiful doll.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12May I take her out of the case?
0:55:15 > 0:55:21She's in all the original clothes and everything as the doll was bought.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24She is absolutely beautiful and, of course,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27there she is with her eyes open.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29Yes, that's as I've always known her.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33I mean, beautiful real hair, fantastic,
0:55:33 > 0:55:38all original clothes. I mean, that's just spectacular and, of course,
0:55:38 > 0:55:42you never ever really get to see 100 year old doll
0:55:42 > 0:55:44in this sort of condition,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47because, of course, she's been preserved in this case
0:55:47 > 0:55:49for all that time.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52She's a German doll
0:55:52 > 0:55:54from the very end of the 19th century,
0:55:54 > 0:55:57- beginning of the 20th century. - Yes, she came from Germany?
0:55:57 > 0:56:01Yes, she's an Armand Marseille doll.
0:56:01 > 0:56:07- Oh, right.- And very, very pretty doll, very good number, 3,200.
0:56:07 > 0:56:08So, just looking in the case...
0:56:08 > 0:56:13obviously they wanted to keep special things from the little girl,
0:56:13 > 0:56:15so there's dolls house furniture,
0:56:15 > 0:56:18I suppose some money that she had when she died
0:56:18 > 0:56:23and, most tragically I suppose, also some of her hair.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27I mean, it was a very common thing in the Victorian period
0:56:27 > 0:56:30to actually preserve some hair of a loved one who'd died.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34Today opening it, and seeing it,
0:56:34 > 0:56:38um, as I say, I've never felt emotional before, but I do now.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40In fact, I've a big lump
0:56:40 > 0:56:44and it's the German side of my mother's family
0:56:44 > 0:56:46that we don't know anything about.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49That is there in the doll.
0:56:49 > 0:56:50- In the doll.- Yes.
0:56:50 > 0:56:56It seems rather the wrong time now to talk about value.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00This doll has far more value to you as a family,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03being handed down to the girls in the family.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07Doll collectors do love to know about the owners of the dolls,
0:57:07 > 0:57:13they do love to know a story and this particularly story, tragic and poignant as it is,
0:57:13 > 0:57:17would add considerably to the value of the doll.
0:57:17 > 0:57:23So the history would mean the doll would probably sell for £600, £700,
0:57:23 > 0:57:27- but that's not the point... - No, she's not for sale.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30..Of the story, I mean, it's just not the point of the story.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34This is a wonderful part of your family history.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37Yes, my mother always said, "You never open that"
0:57:37 > 0:57:43but today we've opened it and I felt quite guilty when we opened it,
0:57:43 > 0:57:44I really did.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48I'm glad we've done it now, I'm really glad we've done it
0:57:48 > 0:57:51and I do feel much more connected with her.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56Remember these elephants
0:57:56 > 0:57:58that Eric was looking at earlier in the programme,
0:57:58 > 0:58:01and the owner wasn't quite sure what to do with them,
0:58:01 > 0:58:02all 25 stone of them.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06Well, we spoke to Leeds Museum and they thought about it for about 30 seconds
0:58:06 > 0:58:09and said yes, they'd be delighted to have them.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12So these elephants are hot footing it, straight from the Roadshow
0:58:12 > 0:58:14just down the road to Leeds Museum.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16And do you think you'll be happy there?
0:58:16 > 0:58:20Yes, they say they will. What a marvellous ending to our show.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22From Leeds Town Hall, bye bye.
0:58:29 > 0:58:32Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:32 > 0:58:35E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk